Strengthening the Customer Experience in a Growing Form of Business

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Introduction

Customers are the most important part of any business, there cannot be a business without clients. This research paper presents a proposal for strengthening the customer experience in a growing form of business. The proposal will begin by reviewing on the literature on strategic marketing as addressed by porter in his presentation of marketing strategy.

Michael porter postulates five forces of assessing the competitive strength and position of a business. This strategy will be used in exploring options available for wallmart private company. The proposal further present research questions for the study to be carried out. These are the questions which will lead the researcher while proceeding with the research process.

Research objectives form the plans of intention and will be stated in a measurable way. These objectives are achievable objectives and relate to the area of study. Methodology to be used in the research proposal is a quantitative method which will involve collection of data in a measurable way. Data regarding customers preferences will be collected and scrutinized using statistical tools.

Philosophy of research is the guiding factor to achievement of objective and for that reason forms a key principle for the research. This research paper will present core view for the research in customer care services. Data collection methods to be highlighted in this proposal are observation and case study of wallmart business centre.

Ethical issues that results from the methods used in data collection will also be discussed in the research proposal. Before analyzing data, limitations of the research will be discussed. The limitations validate the reason for the research in the private investment mentioned. To sum up the research, analysis of the data will be conducted and conclusion made.

Literature review

Michael porter suggested five forces which drives the market. These forces are: existing competitive contention between suppliers, threat of innovative market entrants, bargaining power of buyers, influence of those supplying the business, and danger of products which are substitutes (Porter, 2000).

In the model external forces are stronger than internal forces in a business. It is important to integrate the analysis of the business in conjunction with SWOT meaning Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats.

The treat of substitute products or services

Mobile phone service provider faces a number of substitute products available in telecommunication industry. This was a research conducted by (Creswell, 2003). The main issue discussed by the researcher was that existence of the common products and services raises the probability of customers shifting those products.

The motivating factor to shifting to these alternatives is the relative prices of the substitutes and nearness to the substitutes. People were able to subscribe to a specific communication service provider because of the different rates. The services were also readily available to any person in need. Migration from one service provider to the next was also easily executed.

The treat of new competitors

In any market segment where profitability ratio is high, businesses are drawn into that that market by high profit margins (Porter, 2000). The inflow of new entrants prompts a reduction on the prices of common goods and ultimately decreased profits in the business.

In communication industry, existence of patent rights and other form of communication barriers reduces the number of new entrants while those who have low scores in the market can exit easily. High initial costs of investment have the effect of reducing the number of entrants (Creswell, 2003). One of the major points to note is the level of customer loyalty to established products in the market.

If a company has to build the confidence of the customers, then it is obliged to establish brands that best suits the customers. This was an inference made of consumption of beer in the market. Methodology used in the study was an interview conducted in a local club.

It was clear that customers have an attachment to a specific drink. The government also regulated the market by the use of price floors. Setting of minimum prices for a commodity affects the purchasing power of the target group. If a government wants to reduce consumption of a specific product, has to employ high price floor.

Bargaining power of buyer

This is the ability of the buyer to exert pressure on the business organization to reduce the prices of the products it offers in the market. If a buyer has potentials of purchasing large volume of the products, it is most likely that prices will be reduced in form of discounts (Porter, 2000). This is a form of pressure initiated by the buyer to the company to cut down on their price levels.

If substitutes are present in the market, providers of a product or are obliged to cut down on their prices if they intend to make sales. Another important aspect to note is the potentials of the company to innovate a differentiated and unique product in the market.

Qualitative research by Patton (2002) on consumption of beauty products indicated that more ladies preferred a new invention in the beauty industry. Products which have been differentiated with high level of graphics are more likely to win more consumers.

Power of suppliers in bargaining

This is marked by the inputs to the market. Research done on car manufacturing company revealed that there exist many suppliers of car parts and other services (Coghlan, 2003).

The existence of many substitute suppliers impart positively on the firm since it is guaranteed a continuous inflow of raw materials. This also assist accompany to minimize fluctuating cost of inputs. Vertical integration also goes along in cutting down on cost relate to competition from suppliers (Porter, 2000).

SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis reveals the both the strong points and the weak points of an organization in question as follows;

Strengths

Financial stability of a firm, the available liquid cash, the assets.
The market niche of the company, the stability of the market niche.
The brand used by the company, the patents and trademarks.

Weaknesses

The extent of liabilities of a company.
The geographical limitation of the company.
The rate of employee turnover in the company.

Opportunities

The chances available to breach the market gap.
The new market innovations at the disposal of the company, the strategies that the company can employ in order to acquire a substantial market niche.
The potential source of financial support available for the company

Threats

The number of new entrants to the market.
The innovativeness of the companys competitors.
The unpredictable changing needs of the companys consumers.

Research question

This is a more general term focusing on the area of research to be done. The research question will offer a direction in which the research will be done consequently motivating the researcher to address real issues for the study (Lewis, 2003).

In this research proposal, a valid research question is: what can the company (wallmart) do to improve on the quality of customer care services provided to customers? The research question formulated is based on secondary material and derived from the introductory and literature review.

Objectives of the research

Objective of the research forms part of the statement of intention stated in a measurable and achievable way (Thompson, 2005). The objective of this research proposal is to determine objectively ways of stimulating contact with the customers through a customer experience method.

The research will thus show ways on enhancing this customer experience. In essence, the intention of this research is to enhance a customer oriented business entity that will be subject to the needs of the customer.

Given the growing concern and the need to study the constant changing needs of a consumer, being customer oriented will therefore demand all possible spheres in the study of what is commonly called consumer behavior.

The consumer behavior has been studied extensively since early 60s when the world of business started concentrating more on the needs of the consumer and starting to concentrate on them in order to acquire substantial market niche.

Research method

So as to be able to collect data on the research proposed, quantitative data method of research will be used. The sequence of the research ways and methods are as outlined below.

Philosophy of research

It important to concentrate on philosophical issues in research since it helps a researcher to refine and specify the research method (Meyer, 2007). This forms a clarification process of the strategy to be used in the research. For this reason it validates the type of evidence gathered, their sources, and how it helps answer the research question.

The philosophy will also help the researcher to evaluate methodologies to use in the research therefore avoiding unnecessary wok by deducing limitations of a specific method (McGee, 2005). Finally the philosophy of the research ultimately leads to exploration of new approaches to a research.

In this research, the philosophy to apply is the relevance of the study. Customer care services forms the basis where the business can either succeed or fail. The objective of the business is to make profits through more sales. This can be achieved by finding ways of streamlining contact with the customers. Research in the field of customer care is thus relevant.

The second philosophy of the research is the ability to present quality work after the research is done. Quality research will be achieved by collecting relevant data, analyzing them and finally interpreting the findings in an appropriate manner (Saunders, 2004). In consideration of the fact that the research entails a lot of personal contact with the customers, it then calls for a lot of integrity when the research is in progress.

Following a continuous change in marketing strategies and a recent shift to customer based advertisement through electronic media (e-marketing) the research must be approached with dynamism and ability to appreciate different perspectives (Smith, 2003)

The end result of this position is progress of the research to a level where the findings are valuable to organization. Wall mart therefore will benefit from the inferences of the research through advancement of the customer care experiences.

Approach of the research

A combination of both qualitative and quantitative approach to research will be used in the study of available techniques to. Qualitative approach to use in the research will involve interviewing marketing managers of successful companies (Silverman, 2000).

A specific organization chosen is commodity dispensing centers like supermarket chains. The choice is supported by the fact that they value interaction with the customers. Observation is also made when customers are entering the supermarket and how they are treated while shopping.

Quantitatively data will be collected on the number of complains submitted by customers per week and the steps taken by the chain in responding to the complaints.

In the analysis section, probability of a customer finding a response to the complaints is calculated by dividing number of complains that the company has responded to with the total complains. In doing this, an important statistics can be acquired to support the need to create a procedure for handling customer complain.

Descriptive research will also be collected in a banking sector to investigate what the bank tellers know about customer satisfaction. The method to use in the research is a survey to be conducted in one of the renowned Barclays bank. Bank tellers will be described as they continue with their work of attending to clients.

Methods of collecting data and their procedures

Quantitative data will be collected by obtaining data from the records of complaints entered in the books of the chain supermarket. The following table is relevant as a too to use in entering data.

Days of the week	No of complaints	Responded to complaints	Probability of getting a response(response/complains)	Sales Level(units)
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

To enter the probability section, a simple arithmetic is carried out by dividing number of complaints responded to by total number of complaints per day. The probability will therefore indicate the chances that customers are satisfied after shopping in the chain supermarket.

This is therefore a clear indication of a customer based means of doing business. The data collected are crucial for wallmart business so as to device methods of supplementing on customer care service.

To collect qualitative data, interview questions will be mailed to marketing managers of 2 chain supermarket in a busy town. Structured interview questions in form of a questionnaire are suitable for the study.

Some of the questions to be responded to by the manager include: what marketing strategy is employed by the organization in an attempt to increase sales level? Does the organization offer free sample to customers? Does the company have package its products to customers satisfactory? Does the company have a toll free communication line where the customers place their complaints?

Ethical issues

Ethics generally refer to the code of conduct in any business transaction, ethics are meant to be a guideline for an organization in question or any other form of business entity. There are professional ethics and organizational ethics. Professional ethics are normally unique and practiced within the profession in question, professional ethics could include; accounting, technology, medicine and so forth.

In an organization, ethics govern the daily conduct of the entire human resource in the organization. They can be widely classified as research ethics and professional ethics.

This definition is supported by Smith (2003) where he states that research ethics mainly addresses interaction between the researcher and the area being studied while professional ethics lays emphasis on principles followed while conducting a research.

In summary, the ethics that apply to Wallmart are both organizational and professional. The reason for this is because of the fact that the firms employees are both subject to the rules of the organization and their independent profession.

Limitations of research

The quality of the results of the research is influenced by the existence of other variables. Qualitative research is limited by confidentiality of marketing strategies used by organizations. It is worth noting that for a competitive firm, data and other information linking the business to the customers must be kept safe (Dewit, 2004). The managers are more likely to be reluctant in availing such kind of intelligence.

It is therefore appropriate to state clearly that the purpose of the research is purely academic and no such confidential information will spill to competitors. As a result of the turnover of employees from one company to the other competing company, it is sometimes difficult to safeguard the business secret from reaching a completing firm.

Another limiting factor is promptness of the response by interviewee. Managers are busy by nature of their work load. This means that response to questionnaires is minimized. To improve on the response rate, questionnaire is attached with a letter requesting to source information for an academic writing.

A compiled report will also be sent to the company which thus forms a tool for appraising its services. This step will recognizes a relevant factor for any research that it must aim at benefiting the participants in the research and not the researcher alone (Dewit, 2004).

Time period for the research is longer since participants take time to respond.

Analysis of the data

Quantitative data collected and recorded in the table above is analyzed using mathematical tools. Probability will indicate the chances of a customer getting response from the company. A higher probability shows that customers needs are relevant to the business and that a faster rate of response would motivate more customers to go shopping in the chain supermarket.

Statistical tool of correlation will be used in an attempt to draw relationship between response to customers and increase or decrease. Quality of packaging inspires customers to visit the business area. Such an analysis tool will be of great use in the case of wallmatt.

It also aid in the decision making process on the possible ways of enhancing customer experience in order to increase the companys sales as a result of increased customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

This research proposal has presented a detailed discussion of a way the research on improving customer care service in wallmart can be improved. The paper first reviewed literature on porters competitive model.

In the model, the market operates under five forces namely: existing competitive contention between suppliers, threat of innovative market entrants, bargaining power of buyers, influence of those supplying the business, and danger of products which are substitutes. This is compared with SWOT analysis which compares such characteristics as: Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats.

Porter brings forward that the external forces are stronger in any business set up. This form part of the reason why businesses concentrate on customer care services ( toll free telephone lines, quality packaging, and advisories). The proposal that has been put forward by this proposal will aid in the decision making process that involves customer satisfaction and possible ways of increasing customer satisfaction in the company.

References

Coghlan, D and Brannick, T. (2003) Doing Action Research in your own organization. New York, Sage.pub.Co.

Creswell, J. (2003) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. California, Sage Publications.

Dewit,B and Meyer,R. (2004) Strategy :process, content and context. California, McGraw-Hill.

Lewis, P and Thornhill, A. (2003) Research Methods for Business. London, Sage publications.

McGee, J, Thomas, H and Wilson, D. (2005) Strategy Analysis and Practice. Texas, McGraw-Hill Education.

Meyer, R. (2007) Mapping the Mind of the Strategist: A Quantitative Methodology for Measuring the Strategic Beliefs of Business Executives. Rotterdam, ERIM Research Foundation.

Patton, M. (2002) Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd edition). California, Sage Publications.

Porter, Michael E. (2000) Competitive strategy: techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. New York, Free Press.

Saunders,M, Easterby-Smith, Thorp,R and Lowe,A. (2003) Management Research. Texas. Sage Pub.Co.

Silverman, D (eds) (2000) Qualitative Research: Theory, Method and Practice. London, Sage publications.

Smith, N. Craig. (2003) Corporate social responsibility: Whether or how? California Management Review Journal, 45(4), 23-34.

Thompson, H, John, L and Martin, F. (2005) Strategic management : awareness and change. 5th Edition. Kentucky, Thomson Learning.

Click Here To Order Now!